Syllabary
by Fyre Melody
Summary: A series of shorts with no continuity that follow the lives of those who call Serentity home. Each chapter revolves around a letter and is standalone, so has its own rating, summary, etc. Title simply means Alphabet.
1. Affection

**Title**: Affection

**Author**: Fyre Melody

**Rating**: K+

**Genre**: Romance

**Feedback**: This is my first _Firefly_ fanfiction, so I would love feedback

**Spoilers**: Entire show and movie

**Summary**: Post-Serenity. Inara observes the different ways that the crewmembers of Serenity show affection. MalInara KayleeSimon.

**Notes**: Short, yes, but hopefully well-written and in character. Right? That's what counts... right?

Affection

Ever since Miranda, Inara had noticed that their family – because it was that, a family – had become closer, more caring. People who were normally withdrawn became more expressive about emotions and the like. She noticed, with a strange sense of irony, that these people who were so similar, who shared the same troubles and experiences and space, could be so different when it came to letting the others know they were loved.

Simon worried. He worried about River first and foremost; he always had, but even more since the incident with the Reavers. He rarely let her out of his sights, and she often complained loudly that she had grown a second shadow. He worried about Kaylee too, now more than ever because they had _finally_ admitted their feelings for each other. He left River alone a bit more now, as he worried about Kaylee in private with her. He worried about Mal, both for his position as Captain and the fact that he was the closest thing Simon could remember to having a father. Whenever Mal was on a job, Simon fluttered about the infirmary checking stock, just in case. He worried that Inara's client might rough her up, or that Mal would finally drive her away for good. She had laughed when he threatened to punch Mal. He worried about Zoë more than she used to, worried that she might end her life now that Wash was gone. Whenever she was asleep, or whenever she sat for hours in what had been _his_ chair, he was often in the darkness, watching out for her. Hell, he even worried about Jayne every now and then. He worried that someone would be unable to see beyond the gruff exterior and actually shoot the mercenary.

River teased. She had taken to calling Mal, "Captain Daddy," because she considered him a father but he was always so insistent that the rank be added. She even saluted him, on those occasions when the mood was right. She teased Simon and Kaylee worst of all, about each other and the relationship forming between them. She teased them the loudest when she caught them kissing in the engine room. She teased Jayne about his name, saying that he had a 'girl's name' and such. Once she even asked if he would join her for a tea party, just for laughs. She teased Zoë, but it was subdued, teased her about the war and the way she ate apples. Everyone could see the woman's eyes light up when the girl brought up that story about the train job. She teased Inara about Mal, saying that he was stupid, and a coward, and that she would need to make the first move. Once, she had called Inara "Captain Mommy." It didn't take someone of River's intelligence to figure what she meant by that.

Jayne insulted, it seemed, but then went out of his way to defend. Sure, he and Mal had their fights, and often saw things in different lights. He often teased Mal about Inara or jobs gone wrong or his ship, but he always, _always_, backed him up in a fight, no questions asked, and not for the money. He called River "crazy" or "moon child," but when those Reavers had come at her he had been the first one to break rank, to charge at the monsters and back her up with gunfire. And, whenever he saw a Fed when they were planet side, he would block the way so she wouldn't be seen, hiding her behind him. He often used some ruder comments when Simon and Kaylee could not be found, even to their faces, about how they were off "humpin' each other in the engine room." But he was the only one who got to make those comments, and woe to any other he heard badmouthing the lovers. He didn't call Inara "whore," not like Mal did, but he did often leer at her as she walked past, mutter something about being in his bunk, and he never forgot the one woman he had seen her with, despite numerous threats. But he did hit Mal, once, for insulting her profession. He never insulted Zoë, but they all knew it was because he cared _too_ much to make that mistake right now. That, and she could kick his ass from one side of the 'verse to the other without so much as breaking a sweat.

Kaylee hugged. She always hugged Mal when she saw him in the morning, with a kiss on the cheek and a "mornin' Captain," and another hug before and after each job. She was a very touchy person, so she often hugged Mal just for the hell of it; he was her captain, her hero. She hugged River every day, at least once, cradling her during an episode or just holding her as they laughed together. She hugged her, called her Mei-Mei, and treated her as normal as she could. She hugged Jayne every once in awhile, when he allowed it, usually only after there was a near-death experience. They hugged a bit more after Miranda, and it seemed to make them both happy. She liked hugging Inara, because Inara was her best friend, her big sister. She always hugged when Inara returned to Serenity, or just when they both ended up in the same room, almost to assure her that yes, the Companion was still there. And she hugged Simon in an entirely different way, one that made everyone cover a grin and Mal cover a grimace, but made the entire ship hum with joy.

Zoë smiled. From her, this was the closest she would come to outward affection. She smiled at River when the girl attempted to cheer her up, either with stories or jokes or a dance. She smiled to see Simon and Kaylee in the early stages of love, when everything was still new and fascinating. She smiled when Jayne opened his mouth, because anything that came out was bound to be amusing, whether for the sheer stupidity or through his own sarcasm. She smiled at Inara whenever she fought with the Captain, or complained about him, as if she had a secret that she refused to share. She smiled at Mal a lot, because they had been through everything together and understood each other, so of course they would share some secret smiles. And she smiled at the plastic dinosaurs who still lived on the bridge, and smiled when she sat in his chair or slept in his shirts. She smiled, and she cried.

And Mal... Mal attempted a nice dinner or two, on the Core planets and if they had enough money, but more often than not something went wrong -- an old 'acquaintance' would show up, or the job would take a turn for the worst and he would be called away. He gave her nice things, occasionally, either bits of shiny jewelry or trinkets found in town that he thought she might like, and occasionally she did, if they were neither stolen nor broken by the time he arrived home. He gave her stilted compliments that were obviously scripted, written by River, most likely, often stumbling over the words before throwing his hands up in defeat and improvising. Of course this only occurred with Kaylee's persuasive insistence.

But rarely, more frequently than before Miranda, he would press a gun into her hands during times of trouble, whisper earnestly how she was to only use in an emergency and how if anything went wrong she was to take Kaylee and her shuttle and leave. He would leave out on a job with Zoë and Jayne in tow, smile as he walked down the ramp and turn around to call back that the ship was hers, so she had better take care of her and come bail them out on his call. He would barge into her shuttle unannounced, whether she was with a client or not, and when she looked up in anger he would pause, maybe yell, and then finally manage out that he had only wanted to see her before slinking away. And, rarest of all, in their late-night talks when he couldn't sleep and she couldn't let him be alone, she would ask and he would admit to her that no, everything was not all fine.

It was the small, so very Mal gestures like these, rather than the nice things, that let her know that he really cared.


	2. Bothered

**Title**: Bother

**Author**: Fyre Melody

**Rating**: K+

**Genre**: Romance

**Feedback**: I would love feedback!

**Spoilers**: Entire show and movie

**Summary**: Post-Serenity. Jayne couldn't be bothered to do a lot of things. Hints at an early JayneRiver.

**Notes**: Part two of my "ABC Series," which needs a better name and starts with "Affection." Please note that there is no continuity between the shorts. Thank you!

Bothered

Jayne Cobb could not be bothered to do many things.

He could not be bothered to hold his tongue in sensitive moments or on sensitive subjects. He could not be bothered to refrain from sharing what was on his mind no matter how offensive, because he was the sort to say what he felt. It was rare that his brain was connected to his mouth, as the words that came out were crude at best, because he was not the sort to learn tact. Jayne Cobb was a simple man: he spoke what he thought and never kept secrets from anyone. But he could not be bothered with charm.

He could not be bothered to cheer up a sorrowful crewmember. He could not be bothered to smile or joke in a way that was meant to help, not hurt. His jokes were, usually, only jokes to him an a nusance to others, which is one reason he missed the Shepherd so much -- a man of god he may have been, but he had known how to laugh. Jayne liked a bawdy song or story as much as the next guy, his raucous laughter often filling the bar. But that humor was never put forth when Kaylee was sad to see her smile, or when Mal was in one of his funks. He could not be bothered with empathy.

He could not be bothered with offering to help anyone else, even with those heavy engine pieces Kaylee lugged around. Jayne Cobb worked for himself (or the highest bidder), and the concept of volunteering was entirely foreign to him. If Mal ordered him, and he had nothing better to do, sure he would pitch in. But nothing short of a miracle would lead him to actually think of anyone else long enough to offer his services. He could not be bothered with anything other than himself, usually.

And yet, more and more often since Miranda, Jayne found he could not be bothered to look away when River laughed or smiled or danced or simply walked into the room. Because she had saved them, because she has survived, and because Jayne found he couldn't bother to wonder what life would be like without her.


End file.
